ambience and atmosphere

The street market in Barcelona, close to the cathedral, was buzzing with mid-afternoon crowds. Fairy lights and coloured balloons created a party atmosphere and the throb of the Barcelona street drummers, the whistles and cheers of the crowd, all added to the ambience. You could hear and smell this place before you arrived.

ambience

ambience2

But let’s get down to the food:

Sweet things

naughty chocolates and pretty macarons (though I have to confess to never having tasted one)

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Calamari anyone?

tempting offerings from the sea, wrapped in newsprint

Pretty Hot Bouquets
Fast food on a stick
Strings of chillies
Quench the thirst
Sausages (Market)

and busy, busy stall-holders serving out their goods

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We came across the food market accidentally, but so glad we did! There is nothing better than a good surprise.

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Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

47 thoughts on “ambience and atmosphere”

  1. I’ve never tried a macaroon either, nearly two quid for two little biscuits squashed together, whatever next! Like you , I love markets, there was a book fair near the cathedral when I was there. Did the birthday girl like Barcelona?

    1. She loved it – though I noticed in a comment on her FB page that “mom likes to walk… a LOT” and there was I thinking SHE was the one dragging ME around 😀 We decided that we should have a weekend away every two years we loved it so much. Next one Seville.

      1. Goodie!Daughters are great aren’t they? Mine came to Marrakech a with me a few years ago, but the next trip will have to wait until the girls are a bit older. I went to Seville for a day when I was in Tavira, loved it but having so little time was frustrating. Have a lovely day honey!

  2. I love the bustling, noisy ambience of a good food market, Jude! As for macaroons, a colleague bought som a good few years back now, and I would say they are nothing to write home about!! Sugary pap

      3. Ahhh – so this is where we diverge. I agree about macaroons – a big to-do about nothing – but in my humble, sugar-induced opinion, icing is the whole reason for why a cupcake exists 😉

  5. A great feel for (of?) the Barcelona market and all its goodies. That first stallholder looks as if he could moonlight with the bulls. Is that real or mock newsprint round the calamari? I remember being disappointed years ago when I was planning a romantic feast by the sea of champagne and fish and chips in newspaper: newsprint had been replaced by butchers paper for health reasons.

    1. Fake newsprint I’m afraid Meg. The days of wrapping our chips and fish (A Sheffield expression) are long gone, as are many of the actual printed newspapers.

  8. What a wonderful place, and you captured so many facets of it. I did a double take when I saw the first picture, though. My first thought was: Why in the world is he selling meerkats? And who would want to buy them? Especially containing a spelling error…

  9. Oh my, Barcelona is one of my favorite places anywhere – a wonderful city with fabulous ambiance – you’ve captured it beautifully Jude!

    1. Thank you Tina. It is an incredible city and I totally fell in love with it. I think it has even dislodged Paris in to second place.

    1. Fortunately since we were staying in a hotel there was no excuse to indulge in buying too much, but we did cobble up an excellent lunch on the hoof.

      1. I would find the space. Do every trip. Just brought back 1½kg of top quality figs I bought in Fes in Morocco. Where there is a will there is a way. Although I probably ate half a kilo of those in the two weeks I was there 🙂

        1. Border control is very fussy about what you bring in to the country these days. I did bring back some chocolate for the OH. The rest of our purchases we ate whilst we were there 🙂

        3. I guess we are spoiled for farmer’s markets here (though not many in the south-west) so I don’t bother with a lot of things. I should have bought some olive oil though.

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